Cross-country ace Mika Vermeulen is now also speaking out in the discussion about manipulated suits in ski jumping. In his time as a Nordic combined skier, he was even asked to break the rules.
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- In a podcast, cross-country skier Mika Vermeulen criticizes systematic cheating and rule violations in his former discipline, Nordic combined.
- He reports on specific manipulations such as the use of plasticine and body bandages to gain an advantage, as well as a trivialized approach to rule-breaking.
- Despite stricter controls following the suit scandal, Vermeulen warns of a dangerous culture of cheating in ski jumping and calls for much stricter sanctions.
In the "Skirious Problems" podcast, Mika Vermeulen talks openly about problematic practices from his past in Nordic skiing. Back then, he says he was indirectly pressured to circumvent rules in ski jumping on several occasions.
"People were constantly cheating. They stuffed tons of plasticine into their underwear to achieve a bigger stride," says the Austrian(via "Bild"). The effect: more suit area - and therefore an aerodynamic advantage in flight.
Vermeulen describes a particularly impressive situation before a material check: "The first time I was asked to take measurements, the older and more experienced jumpers came up to me and said: 'It's very important that you tape your penis down, because that will lower your crotch measurement by one or two centimetres'."
At the same time, the 26-year-old makes it clear that none of the athletes who gave him these tips are still active in the World Cup today.
"Everyone is cheating on purpose"
After the suit scandal at the World Championships in Trondheim in March 2025, the FIS did react. Under the leadership of chief material inspector Mathias Hafele, violations have been punished more consistently since then. For Vermeulen, however, this does not go far enough.
"I can say this with one hundred percent certainty: everyone who is disqualified in ski jumping and Nordic combined is deliberately cheating. And they justify it by saying: 'Yes, yes, but everyone else does it too'."
He is particularly bothered by the fact that, in his opinion, controls are too lenient and there are often hardly any consequences for breaking the rules.
Dangerous culture
He warns the Norwegian broadcaster NRK of the long-term consequences: "I'm not saying that everyone cheats. I'm just saying that you create a bad culture if cheating is not severely punished. And that is a dangerous culture. You create a culture where it's okay to look for loopholes."
He continued: "If you're caught cheating, you should be banned for a longer period of time. There should be no tickets. You have cheated". Currently, the rules stipulate that jumpers are banned for two competitions after a second offense - with the exception of the Olympic Games.
Compared to cross-country skiing, Vermeulen sees clear differences: "In cross-country skiing, we adhere 100 percent to the WADA doping lists. But in ski jumping, we prefer to consciously take a risk or move right on the edge of the limit and think that it will certainly go wrong at some point, but that it's still completely okay."
